Terra-fied
by David S
Summary: Kefka returns in a form much more dangerous and bizarre...


TERRA-FIED

TERRA-FIED

By David Solomon

SC4000@aol.com

"The funny thing about adventures is that you don't actually 'live' anywhere. You basically head from town to town, sleeping at the inn. When the adventure is over, where do you go? Where do you live? As simple and dull as it sounds, you end up dividing the money you had collected from your battles, and buy a house. Since we all destroyed Kefka a year ago, I have inhabitad the house I live in right now for just over six mon-"

"You spelled inhabited wrong," Celes said, looking over Locke's shoulder.

Locke turned around. "Why, how do you spell inhabited?"

"With an e at the end." Celes started laughing.

"What's so funny?"  
"You're just so cute in glasses!"

"Hey, I can't help it if my sight is deteriorating!" Lock took off his glasses and started cleaning them.

Celes sat down in a chair next to him and started reading his memoirs. "So, how are they coming?"

"Pretty good, actually," Locke responded, putting his glasses back on. He turned around. "I'm not having much trouble finding the right words."

"How do you describe me?"

"As the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."  
Celes smiled. "And that's why I love you. Who would have thought a thief could be so poetic?"

Locke gave a smile that showed very fake anger. "That's TREASURE hunter."  
Celes laughed.

*****

"Terra! One of the kids wet his bed again!"

Terra scurried into the room with the urinary funk. The kid was sitting on a nearby chair, crying.

"I was on a streak, too!" He said, between sobs. "56 nights!"

"Oh, it'll be all right," Katarin said. "Terra, will you clean this up? I have to help Duane with dinner."

"Oh, fine. You get the easy job." Terra sighed as she headed to into the bathroom to get some paper towels.

"Teeeeeeerrrraaa…" came a voice from inside. Terra paused for a minute, then ignored the strange voice and entered. After she got the paper towels (and some chemicals to clean the stain), she made a casual glance at the mirror. Just as she was about to exit the bathroom, she suddenly realized that something wasn't right and looked back at the mirror. She wasn't the only person she saw.

"Heeey, Terra!" came the voice of Kefka.

Terra looked back, and saw nothing. She felt very concerned. She hurried back to the room.

"All right…" She said to herself. "No problem…at all." She put the chemicals on the paper towels and started scrubbing.

"Boo!" the voice shouted. Terra made a quick shriek and dropped everything on the ground.

"Terra!" Duane ran into the room. He checked the surroundings. "Terra, if you hate cleaning up urine that much, you should have just said so." He chuckled.

"Um…" Terra thought for a second. "I'm not feeling well."

"Maybe you should just go to sleep," Duane pointed out. "It's late."

"Yeah…maybe I should." Terra blankly stared into the urine stain. She wasn't really looking at it, though.

*****

While Terra was getting ready for bed, she had a fear in the back of her head of seeing Kefka in the window. But of course she didn't. After all, Kefka was dead! She had even given the philosophical speech right in his face, which was followed by the long battle that ended in not only his death, but also the complete destruction of his tower. Then, came a sort of revival period, in which a few plants were grown, and the world sort of reached a balance, in which it could handle the changes that Kefka had caused. And now he was dead.

So why was he in her bed?

"This is a comfy bed, Terra," Kefka said. Terra was about to scream, but Kefka leaped up and covered her mouth. "Don't scream." This close, Terra could clearly see through Kefka. He was dead.

"You did a really bad thing, killing me," Kefka stated, lifting his hand off of her mouth, slowly. Terra instantly tried to kick him, but her leg went right through him.

"You can't touch me," Kefka said, with a sadistic chuckle. "I am invincible now."

"W-w-what are you going to do to me?" Terra asked, terrified. "Are you going to k-kill me?"

"Oh, not yet," Kefka responded. "I think I've got something that would benefit me a little more right now."

If you had been standing near the door to Terra's room, you would have heard the sound of clothes being ripped. If you had listened closer, you might have even heard a few moans of pleasure from Kefka.

*****

"Believe it or not, I first met Celes when she was getting beaten up by guards. Apparently, she had betrayed them. I was dazzled when I first saw her. But I couldn't think about it for long. After all, I had to save her!"

"You know, you're writing completely out of order," Celes pointed out.

Locke turned around to look at her. "I can write this in any order I choose. Then, I'll reorganize it for the final draft."

Celes looked at the writing. She smiled. "Were you really dazzled when you first met me?"

Locke chuckled a little. "Not really. More of a writer's touch."

Celes suddenly frowned.

"I'm just kidding!" Locke said, standing up. "You know I love you."

Celes made a somewhat forced laugh. "Oh…" They stared at each other for a few seconds. Just as they were about to kiss, however, there was a knock.

"Dammit! What a freaking coincidence!" Locke ran to the door. "Why can't they knock while I'm reading, or something!" He opened the door.

"Duane! Katarin! What a surprise! Do come in!"

"Oh, thank you." They both entered.

"So, what brings you to our newly acquired residence?"

"It's quite a place," Katarin responded. "Locke…when was the last time you spoke with Terra?"  
"Oh, gee…we haven't spoken since the Kefka incident."  
"Oh…"  
"What's wrong?" Celes asked. "What's wrong with Terra?"

"It all happened last night," Duane said. "She was acting a little strange. I just passed it off as stress. But then, a couple hours later, I heard a scream. And another scream. And another scream. Then I heard crying."  
"I heard it too," Katarin stated. "In fact, I think everybody heard it.

"So, anyway, we ran into the room, and we saw Terra. Her clothes were all ripped, and she seemed petrified…of something. She was really screaming and crying. We came in, and she took one look at us, and she screamed something very incoherent…"

"What was it?" Celes asked. "What did she say?"  
"I understood it," Katarin stated. "She said something to the effect of, 'He's here! He's everywhere!'"

*****

Locke and Celes were now in Terra's room. Terra was still crying, her face showing nothing but pure fear.

"Terra…" Locke sat down on the bed next to her. "What did you see?"

She looked at him. She tried to speak, but no words were coming out of her mouth.

"What did you see?" Locke asked again, this time firmer and a little less forgiving.

Terra looked all around the room. "I…" she paused for a second. "I…saw Kefka."  
Locke sighed.

"Terra, that's impossible," Celes pointed out. "Kefka's dead."

"I know," Terra responded. "It was his ghost. He was in my bed, and he…"

"Terra, that was not Kefka. You were hallucinating. You hadn't gotten enough sleep." Locke tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it off and suddenly stood up.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" She began crying, and her voice raised to a deafening level. "Not only did I see Kefka, but he talked to me! He was in my bed! He grabbed me! And he raped me! Right there! He enjoyed every goddamn minute of it, too!" Terra flung herself on the bed, sobbing.

Locke blinked a few times. "Well, something seems to have happened to her. She's usually a much stronger person."

"You don't think this is a side-effect, do you?" Celes asked.

"A side effect? Of what?"

"Well, you know how she lost her Esper half when Kefka was destroyed? Perhaps she's having an emotional breakdown, or something. You know, as a result of being less powerful, and having less of an ability to handle the stress and other emotions of handling orphans."

"That wouldn't really make sense, though," Locke stated. "After all, she's been completely human for six months, now. Why only now would she start to hallucinate?"  
"Alternatively, why only now would Kefka begin to haunt us and individually mentally disintegrate us all?"

"Good point." Locke turned around on the bed to look at Terra, who was still crying. "She really looks like she's troubled."

"Yeah, she's not even really paying attention to what we're saying."  
"She needs help. Badly."

*****

In Figaro castle…

"So, what do you think, Edgar?" Locke asked.

"Interesting…" Edgar said, reminiscing about Terra. "Poor Terra. It's sad when the mind goes at such a young age."  
"But she may be telling the truth."

"How would that work, by the way?"  
"What?"

"You know, a male ghost and a female. How would they…the parts…"

"I know what you're talking about, and it's not funny." Locke shook his head. "Maybe you were the wrong person to come to."

Edgar leaned forward. "Look, the point I'm trying to make here is that what she told you is totally illogical. I mean, Sabin told me all of his stories about the Phantom Train. You remember. The ghosts were all organized and stuff. They went on the train, which took them to 'the other side,' and once there, they organize the ghosts as to whether they're naughty or nice, blah blah blah, you get the idea."

"So you don't believe terrified Terra, but you believe Sabin?"

"Hey, Sabin was under complete control when he told me the story. Terra has that very disturbed aura. As you describe it, Terra's 'ghost story' could be nothing more than a cry for attention."

"Are you suggesting that Terra ripped her clothes, screamed, and made up that really freaky story just to get attention? Terra's not the type of person who would do that."  
"True, but Terra after six months of working in an orphanage with nobody near her age except two young lovebirds with what I would call an underage pregnancy…by the way, how is the infant?"

"I didn't see him. So you're agreeing with Celes…somewhat. You're saying that she's having side-effects from losing her Esper half?"

"Yup." Edgar leaned back in his chair.

"Or, maybe a soldier climbed in through the window dressed up as Kefka, and assaulted her."

"Hmm…I never thought of that." Edgar paused for a few seconds. "Perhaps it would be best for us all if she stayed in Figaro Castle, tonight."

Locke gave a slim grin. "This isn't an elaborate plan of seduction, is it?"  
Edgar sighed. "Unfortunately, my conscience prevents me from flirting with clinically insane women." Suddenly, a thought came to him. "By the way, how did you get here?"  
Locke stood up from his chair. "I walked. It's good exercise."

Edgar looked at his stomach. "So that's where the tightness in my wear has been coming from!"

*****

Terra inside Figaro castle…

"You will be perfectly safe in here, my lady," Edgar said to Terra, who was lying on a bed. She seemed more serene. "This is in the basement. There is only one entrance, and there is a guard on the outside. There will also be two guards posted in this room."

"But how will they see Kefka?" Terra asked.

Edgar sighed. "Tell you what. How about you just trust me to make things okay?"

Terra sighed. "All right."

"Even if my guards don't see Kefka, because he's cloaked, or whatever ghosts do to prevent you from seeing them, they'll smell them. Or something."

Terra laughed. "That's funny. Thank you. I think I'll be okay for the night."

"All right. See you later."

Later.

*****

That night…

Terra lay asleep. The two guards were watching her, although they knew that their presence was nothing more than to reassure Terra that everything was okay. As you probably know, sometimes when you're asleep, you wake up. You know, your dream ends, stuff like that. Well, Terra woke up. At first, her eyes were closed. She was tired, and didn't even really feel like opening them. But she wanted to open them, look around, and see if the guards were awake. And she did.

She saw Kefka.

"Hello, my sweet," Kefka responded. Terra tried to scream, but he covered her mouth. The guards didn't even notice anything, yet. "Last night was fun, but I think it would be best if we stopped seeing each other." Kefka pulled a knife out. Even the knife was invisible, and nobody saw it but Terra. The guards, not seeing anything except Terra moving a bit, sat where they were.

"Goodbye, my love. I guess I'll see you around." Kefka let out a monstrous laugh as the knife penetrated Terra's skin again, and again, and again.

*****

Terra was now dead. What was once her was now her body, and a large pool of blood.

"So, Terra, how did you…" Locke's sentence was stopped by the sight. Edgar and Celes also entered the room, followed by Sabin.

"Hi guys! What did I miss?" Sabin asked. Then he entered the room.

Edgar looked at Terra. "Oh my…" He then looked at the guards. They instantly resumed the innocent look.

"Why did you fall asleep?" Edgar asked. "There was a reason for bringing her in here. It's called protection."

"I was awake the entire time!" Guard one said.

"I was, too!" Guard two said.

"Oh, really?" Edgar asked. "Then…" Edgar lost his train of thought at the sight of Terra. "W-would somebody do something about her? It's very…well, just…"

No guards volunteered.

"Well, at least tell me what happened!"

"It's really quite simple, sir," Guard one said. "She was sleeping. Then she woke up, coughed, and bled to death."

"Wait…what?"

"That was what happened. That's as detailed as I can make it."

"So you were sleeping."

"No! I was not sleeping! I know damn well when I'm awake, and I was awake."

"So you've gone insane, too."  
The guard let out a frustrated squeal. "If you don't believe me, fine. But that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!"

Edgar looked at Terra again, shook his head, and left the room, leaving Sabin, who quickly left with Edgar, and Locke and Celes.

"Well, what are we supposed to do now?" Celes asked.

"Everything we can do," Locke pointed out. "Nothing."

*****

Celes sat in her room. In her hands was the book Ghosts, Apparitions, and Specters. She read it carefully, trying to figure out how she would destroy Kefka's ghost.

"Reading sucks, doesn't it?" came a voice from inside the room. Celes lowered the book and saw Kefka.

"Kefka…" Celes muttered.

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" He stated.

"You bastard! Why did you kill Terra?"

"I thought it was a decent payback for what she did to me, just as I think it's decent payback what I will do to you."

Celes crept back to the wall. "And what is that?"

"You know, even when you're dead, you still just can't get enough."

Celes paused for a second, then realized what was about to happen. "LOOOCCCKKKEE!!!"

Locke bolted into the room, but saw nothing but Celes pressed against the wall.

"He's here, right here!" Celes shouted.

Locke made a quick scan of the room. "Where?"

"Right in front of me!" Celes shouted.

Locke gave a look of frustration. "I don't see him!"

"I'm the only one that can see him," Celes said.

Locke sighed. "You know what, Celes? You've gone crazy. Terra went crazy, and now you're crazy. So I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to leave this room, and you're going to see that it's okay!"

"How do you think Terra died, Locke?" Celes said, as she shuddered.

"She smuggled a knife in and stabbed herself," Locke responded, and left.

"No, Locke, don't leave me!" There was a loud rip, but Locke had already left the room.

*****

An hour or so later. Celes exited her room, her clothes ripped, her hair messed up, everything about her looking wrong. Locke turned around.

"You abandoned me when I needed you, Locke," Celes said. There were circles under her eyes, and she spoke with no emotion, as if she were deeply disturbed.

"You need help, Celes. You seriously need help."

Celes' jaw dropped. "I'm not crazy!" She screamed. "You must help me destroy Kefka. The answers are in the book."

Locke sighed. "Celes, I don't believe you. At all."

Celes shrugged. "Then it's official. You don't love me."

Locke jumped. "What?"

"I knew you could never love me as much as Rachael. But then again, maybe I was paranoid. You just confirmed my theory."

"That's a terrible thing to say!" Locke shouted. "How could you?"

"It's easy to say the truth, Locke. You should try it, sometime."

"So, what are you trying to say? That I'm a bad person because I'm not wildly chasing a ghost I can't hear or see?"

"I prefer to think of it as not caring for the one you supposedly truly love." Celes left the room. Locke sat down, and rested his head in his hands.

*****

"I thought that defeating Kefka while he was alive was a challenge. In truth, that was just the beginning. For after the end, which I just finished describing to you, there came an even greater challenge, one that I am not even aware of how to complete at the time I write this. This is the point when the memoirs become more of a journal entry. Right now, I feel like an anti-hero. Terra is already dead, and somehow, her insanity passed on to Celes, whom I fear will die soon too. I care for her, but it wouldn't appear to be that way from her point of view. She thinks that all the times I told her I love you, all the times I said she was beautiful, all the other compliments I gave her by deviating from our regular conversations were insincere. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do…"  
*****

A day passed. In the course of this day, Locke and Celes stayed farther apart than they ever had. Celes spent the entire day in her room, reading the book. She never left the room, not even to eat. Locke spent most of the day in the house too, just not in that room. He felt depressed, and thought about going back to Edgar for advice. He felt wrong leaving the house with Celes in her condition. She had roughed herself up more than he thought she would. It frightened him. Finally, night came. And something happened.

"Locke!" Celes shouted. Locke hesitated, then sat back down. He decided there was no point.

"Locke, get in here right this instant! I may take back everything I said."

Locke hesitated, then entered the room. As he expected, Celes was frightened.

"Locke, he's here…"

"Where? Where is Kefka?" As if to answer the question, Celes stopped breathing, and reached for her neck.

"Locke…" no more words came out. She began grabbing pieces of furniture, as if to squeeze the pain out of her system. Locke rushed over to the bed, and suddenly realized that there was nothing he could do.

"Celes, what's…what's…what's happening?" Locke waved his hands around the area of Celes' neck. He felt nothing.

"Kefka…Kefka! Stop! Now! Please?"

Celes was struggling maddeningly, now. She was practically shaking the entire room now, desperately trying to fight away.

"Celes, don't die! Don't die!" Celes stopped moving.

"Celes? Oh, no…"

"L…Locke…" Celes whispered.

"What?" Locke leaned down closer.

"Destroy him….for me…" and then she fell limp.

Locke suddenly felt all his happiness wash away, as he broke down in front of Celes. And then, he saw the book on the other side of the room. He walked over and picked it up, and saw the page it was turned too.

*****

"She's dead, Edgar."

"What?" Edgar sat up in his chair. "Oh, Locke…I'm so sorry."

"And I know this time that she didn't do it herself."

"How do you know?"

"I saw her. Something was choking her. Something I couldn't see. It is Kefka. It took her death to make me believe."

Edgar's expression suddenly changed. "Well, what does this mean? That Kefka could come after any one of us next?"

"Kefka will come after one of us next. But there might be a way to stop him."

"What do you mean?"

"Celes got this book. After she died, I picked up the book, and it was turned to a page."

"What did it say on this page?"

Locke cleared his throat. "Ahem…'An item that was special to an apparition can be used to summon it. While requiring much energy and preparation to summon the apparition, sending the ghost back to where it came from is a much easier task. The item must be burned in order to cancel the summoning.'"

"You see? We might be able to destroy Kefka yet!"  
Edgar leaned forward. "Locke, in the past few months, I've read quite a few books on philosophy. And I wouldn't feel right until you admitted something to me."

"What would that be?"

"Admit to me that you did not love Celes as much as Rachael."

"What the…why?"

"You have to admit the truth, Locke."

Locke banged his hands down on the table. "No! Why should I say that?"

"Locke, there are many women in a man's life, but there is only one that he can truly love. You don't understand this, and you will never understand yourself until you can admit this."

"I will do nothing of the sort."  
"You will admit the truth, or so help me God I'll throw you in the prison cells and watch you rot until you admit it!"

Locke hanged his head in shame. For an entire minute, they both sat there, saying nothing, making no noises except for breathing.

"I could never love Celes as much as I did Rachael."

Edgar looked back up at Locke. "Until we admit our beliefs to ourselves, we can never righteously be complete."

Locke rested his head on the table. "I'm a terrible person!" He shouted.

"I'll get as many people as I can. We'll begin searching at the ruins that once were Kefka's tower."  
*****

People have places to go.

"All you could get were Sabin and Cyan?" Locke asked.

"I couldn't get in touch with anyone else," Edgar responded. "You should consider yourself lucky that I could even find these two."

"If this is thy idea of a reunion," Cyan began, "Thou art weird."

"Well, 4 is bigger than two." Locke examined the ruins.

"So, why are we here, again?" Sabin asked.

"To look for evidence of something taken away," Locke replied. "Something of Kefka's."  
"So we're actually looking for a needle in a haystack," Sabin pointed out. "Some of the items are substituted by different items, but it's the same idea."  
"Hey, if life were easy, psychiatrists would lose their jobs."

"Well, then," Edgar said, clasping his hands together and pointing at the rubble. "Let's go find that needle!"  
They all headed towards the rubble that was once Kefka's tower, and started searching. Unfortunately, they had no luck. Two hours later…

"Thou has sent us on a wild goose chase," Cyan reported.

"I've caught wild geese before," Locke stated. "You just need patience."

"You won't catch any geese that way," came a strange voice from behind. Locke instantly spun around, and was happy to note that it wasn't Kefka.

"Who are you?" Locke asked.

The person wasn't a ghost, but he might as well have been. He was very old, and was dressed in a heavy cloak. "My name is meaningless. I am a nobody."

Locke examined the nobody. "All right…what do you mean, 'we won't catch any geese?'"  
"I mean you won't find the item you're looking for."

"How would you know what we're looking for?"

The old man pointed to a house in the distance. "That's where I live. About a week and a half ago, I saw a person search through the rubble for several hours. I was far away, so he didn't notice me watching him. I may be losing my vision, but a telescope can go a long way." He chuckled. "When you live in the middle of nowhere, you've got nothing better to do than to spy on people."

"What did he pull out of the rubble?"

"That I could not tell you. But if you head southeast from the rubble, you'll probably find him. That was the direction he went, and there aren't any mountains or rivers, so he probably wouldn't change direction."

"All right. Thank you."

"I know what's happening. Kefka's ghost is haunting the world, yes sir! I'm not ready to die, and I'm sure nobody else on the planet is, either. End Kefka's tyranny once and for all. Please."

Locke sighed. "I will."

*****

The old man was right. There were no rivers or mountains. But there were trees. Many trees. Locke's travels took him to a small house in the middle of a large, thick forest. There were many times when everyone felt lost, as the woods look the same from every angle. But Locke did not give up. He picked one direction, and took it. He eventually came upon the house.

"This is it," Locke said. "The end of our journey is beyond that house."

"I guess we should just enter," Sabin stated.

"Alas, thou hast pointed out our only option," Cyan added. So they walked up to the door. It was locked 

"I guess it would be wrong to knock, wouldn't it?" Edgar asked. Locke did not respond. Instead, he took a few steps back, and began trying to break down the door. The hinges apparently weren't state of the art, and the door came down in one ram.

Nothing could prepare them for what they were about to see. Locke stood up. He glanced at the only table in the room, what was on it, and what was behind it.

"So, you're alive," Locke said.

Emperor Gestahl smiled. His hands were covered in blood, but it didn't appear to be his. In a large, open container, Kefka's feather which he wore for the duration of his existence lay floating in water.

"What, you thought I was dead?" Gestahl gave a psychotic laugh.

"You…you had to be," Sabin uttered. "You fell…a huge distance."

"Into a body of water," Gestahl finished. "I broke almost every bone in my body. I waited a year as my body repaired itself. I watched Kefka destroy everything. But in the midst of all that destruction, he failed to destroy you. All of you."

"Thou art the one who is channeling Kefka!" Cyan shouted.

"Oh, I see you have a brain!"  
"You monster!" Locke screamed. "I mean, look what you did to Terra, and Celes!"

"And soon, Relm! Oh, that will be fun. For Kefka, anyway. I just tell him who to kill. I let him toy with his victims however he wants to. That way, we both get our revenge!"

"You're brain apparently didn't survive, Gestahl!" Edgar pointed out. "You obviously have gone insane! Kefka betrayed you!"

"Yes, but he's already dead. You guys are still alive. You shouldn't be. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to kill you." He dipped his hands in the container, which turned a light red.

"Gestahl, stop it, now!" But he didn't hear a word.

"O Satan, please aid me by sending your greatest ally! Bring Kefka to the surface! Take my sacrifice of the lamb!"

The feather raised up out of the water. And once it got a certain distance above the ground, Kefka materialized below it.

"Welcome, friends!" Kefka stated. "I'm glad you made it!" Kefka pulled out his knife.

"The feather!" Locke instantly grabbed the feather, but he was unable to pull it off.

"I'm afraid you'll have a problem trying to pull that off," Kefka cackled. "It's on pretty tight."

"Oh, don't worry about me!" As Kefka tried to turn around, Locke stayed behind him. Suddenly, Locke's hands started glowing.

"Fire…fire…fire…" Locke continually chanted it under his breath.

"W-what are you doing?" Edgar asked.

"Fire will destroy the feather!" Locke shouted. "Fire, fire, fire!"

"You idiot!" Kefka screamed. "You'll destroy yourself too!"

"A small price to pay to end your tyranny forever!" Locke shouted. "Fire, fire, Merton!"

"No! I will not let you destroy me!" Kefka stabbed Locke, but Locke didn't flinch. Gestahl didn't either. He had summoned Kefka, and could not move.

"Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, get out of here, now!" Locke shouted. "This whole place is going down, and it won't help at all if you just stand here!"

"Locke…"

"GO!" Sabin, Edgar, and Cyan ran out of the house. But Edgar took one last look at Locke.

And then came the explosion. As Edgar, Sabin, and Cyan stood far away, watching, the entire house erupted in a huge flame, inadvertently setting the nearby trees on fire.

"We have to get out of here!" Edgar declared. "The entire forest will burn down!"

"But what about Locke?" Sabin asked.

"No one can save him, now." And they ran.

*****

The next day…in Figaro castle…

"King Figaro, did you hear about the huge forest fire yesterday?"

Edgar looked up at the chancellor. "Yes, but that's all I know."

"Word has it that it took fifty black mages casting ice spells to calm the fire down!"

"Did they find anything besides ash?"

"Not really…"

Edgar sighed. At least the feather was destroyed.

"Oh, wait, they did find something! They found a person."  
Edgar looked up in confusion.

"It was a miracle! After they stopped the fire, they tried to figure out where it started, and they found this guy! He apparently was in the middle of the fire the whole time, but all he had was a small stab wound."

Edgar smiled. "I guess faith does have it's strong points. I should hope to see this man. Where is he?"

"Oh, I have no idea. He'd probably have to come here for you to meet him."

"Ah, it doesn't matter. I've already met him." Edgar sat down. "It's more of a question of whether I'll see him again."

"Should I begin an investigation to find him?"

"Nah, I think he needs to spend some time alone."

*****

Locke stood in front of the graves of Terra and Celes. He held flowers. He dropped the flowers between the two graves.

"Share them, you two," he said. He turned to Terra's grave. "Terra, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I had no way of knowing." He turned to Celes' grave. "Celes…" he searched for the right words. "…I'm sorry. I'm sorry I could never love you like I loved Rachael. Just remember that I did love you. Please. And Kefka won't be bothering us anymore. Oh, I wish you could have seen me." Locke sighed. "I'm going to be lonely. You two keep each other company, up there." Locke resisted the tears. "Well, bye." Locke walked away. As he walked, he passed Kefka and Emperor Gestahl's graves, in the shadows. But then he stopped. He looked at the graves for a few seconds with curiosity, and then he turned back and went on his way. Perhaps he was going insane, but he could have sworn he heard Kefka laughing.


End file.
